Friday, May 5, 2017

Los Holidays Flix: The Invasion of the Vampires (1963)

Happy 'We Beat the French One Time' Day! Last year, I covered The Bloody Vampire, a 1962 Vampire Film from Mexico. It actually had no Blood, but it did have a Vampire. This year, I do the Sequel- The Invasion of the Vampires. In the previous Film, we saw the evil Dr. Frankenhausen, a name that continues to amuse me. There's also the whole 'German People in a Mexican Horror Film Speaking Spanish' thing too. He escaped justice at the end of that Film and is now back to kill more folks. We get a new Hero this time, but just more Vampires. On the plus side, it is more interesting than the one last year. As a weird side note, the Director of this Film died in 2013...at the age of 105. Wow. To find out how good or bad this may be, read on...

In a Village in Mexico, the populace is haunted by a mysterious woman who kills people. It sure can't be related to the Vampires nearby, right?

A young comrade of the Doctor from the last Film comes there and learns the name of the Family.

Still silly.

Yeah, nothing weird going on in this Town. Not at all.

I kid. Frankenhausen is there and the body count is racking up (mostly off-camera). Nice teeth.

More weird science breaks in as the key to stopping the Vampires turns out to be some sort of Plant-based fluid. Crucifixes help, but Science is the key.

Our Hero battles the Vampire after some silly special effects show up. Also the Full Moon empowers him...or something.

Frankenhausen has bigger plans than just killing folks. He wants to go full Pinky & The Brain!

The Count is actually killed in a bit of an anti-climax, but he's not cured...so his brethren haunt the night. Only Black Mandrakes keep them at bay. Is that a Band name yet?

To note, this is 1963 and it sure looks like something we'd see in 1968...

As the Vampires call out to them to leave their safe abodes, they find a cure for Frankenhausen, thus ending the plague.

That's it? Oh...alright. The End.

More interesting, but still kind of dull. Hammer Films manage to build tension nicely, even the less good ones. These Films so far have interesting ideas, but never quite get the Pacing right. There are neat moments throughout...just not in a sustained, interesting manner. If you're a fan of old-school Horror, there are certain moments to enjoy. For example, the moody Music is quite nice. Outside of that, the Films just don't get going, introduce weird Vampire Rules and just kind of drone on. This one has a real anti-climax. To the Film's credit, this is a unique Ending. Mind you, it is a unique Ending because it is kind of boring. I wanted to like this one more...but I didn't. On the plus side, silly Revealing Mistake to point out...